Developer brands Google Glass ‘a pain in the ass’

An award winning mobile games developer has branded Google Glass ‘a pain in the ass’ to develop for, claiming rival smartglasses are more accessible.

Speaking with TrustedReviews recently, Developer and Imaginary Computer Founder Sean McCracken suggested that Google had made its high-profile eyewear unnecessarily difficult to develop for, building additional, complex layers over its Android base.

“Google Glass is a pain in the ass. It is really hard to develop for,” McCracken told us. “To actively get an app tied in with the Glass development kit is not easy.”

Explaining the development process required for Google Glass, he added: “What they did was make the timeline as another layer on top of Android and they made these little title cards so it’s essentially just text notifications – so if you think of push notifications on your phone – that’s essentially all it is on Glass.”

Having previously released games for all leading mobile platforms, McCracken has stated that he has been driven away from developing for Google Glass by the company’s attitude to the techy eyewear.

“Google didn’t want to release some games as they are already having trouble with Glass being seen as too dorky,” he said.

Looking to how Google Glass compares with rival eyewear, the developer added: “They’re trying to go for the soccer mums where Epson is happy for you to go wherever you want with its glasses.”

Discussing the CES unveiled Epson Moverio BT-200, McCraken stated: “The Epson Moverio glasses are just stock Android so I could take my game and port it to this.

“I think that the barrier to entry on the Moverio is so much lower and Epson’s whole corporate persona is going to help it gain developers for its glasses.”